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Rudy Ricciotti
Mediterranean , direct, demanding, deliberately provocative, Rudy Ricciotti (*1952) is, above all, a remarkable personality. His expressive architecture unfailingly provokes a reaction, whether positive or negative, especially when it breaks taboos. A good example is his stadium in Vitrolles (1994), a lamentably neglected concert hall. This black concrete monolith, radiating small red lights, seemed to ward off a difficult environment. A raw building that makes a stand against the establishment, a meteorite, the stadium is current undergoing an audit that should allow it to rise from its ashes.
Of all of the architect’s projects, whether those located in the south of France, or those built beyond his regional and national borders, special mention must go to the sensual, organic and poetic concert hall of the Brandenburg Philharmonic Orchestra at the heart of the old town of Potsdam, the Centre Chorégraphique National d’Aix-en-Provence, which stands as a bastion of culture within a vast urban development project or the peace footbridge in Seoul, a 120 metre-long arch built using ultra high performance concrete.
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Villa Marmonier, La Garde (1999) © Picture P.Ruault
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Concert hall Philharmonique, Potsdam (2000) © Picture P.Ruault |
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Project MUCEM © Picture Rudy Ricciotti | |
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Just under a year ago, the Ricciotti houses were the subject of a retrospective at the Villa Noailles, in Hyères. Houses that are mineral, fluid and willowy, a reaction against traditionalist and ossifying urbanistic constraints. Clinging onto the pine forest, they form an imaginary parallel with the sea, below, like the Villa Marmonier, at La Garde, combining a reinforced concrete structure with a facade made entirely of glass.
At the same time, Rudy Ricciotti – a lover of modern art – was enjoying a triumphant success in Marseilles. His MUCEM (Musée des Civilisations d’Europe et de Méditerranée) project, the winner of a prestigious international competition, triggered a wave of reactions and caused a lot of ink to flow. This project, built on a historical site steeped in violence, looking out over the sea, was a dream come true for the architect, even if he admits that the work caused him great anxiety and torment. Turning his back on « the imperialism of brilliance », he seeks to bring out the dematerialisation of a perfect square that is both fragile and dense, integrating another square volume. The concrete construction, which evokes stone eroded by the wind and the salt, aims to be a search for a more physical than spatial experience. Windbreaks – acting as a sort of filter – this time bring ‘a certain modesty” to the project.
In 2003, Paul Ardenne chose him as the subject of "Codex", a book published by Birkhauser. Ricciotti’s reputation is established. His « unconventional » approach and his battle against the uncultivated developers or the overcautious politicians have not prevented him from being considered as one of the most talented French architects. With an ability to hit the right note with an infinite sensitivity.
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